On a Wing and a Prayer
by isadorathegreat
Summary: HIATUS There’s something Yuan has noticed as the centuries march on – souls never leave this world behind forever. Saddled with the task of raising a newly human Noishe, Yuan must give up his reclusive ways and come face to face with his living past.


**Summary:** There's something Yuan has noticed as the centuries march on – souls never leave this world behind forever. Saddled with the task of raising a newly human Noishe, Yuan must give up his reclusive ways and come face to face with his living, breathing past.

**Timeline/Spoilers:** This story is set long after _Tales of Symphonia_ and _Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World_, but well before _Tales of Phantasia_. Therefore, it is suitable for readers who have completed the two _Symphonia_ games and don't mind minor spoilers for _Phantasia_.

**Disclaimer:** Namco owns the _Tales of _series and any related characters. I only own this plotline.

**Author's Notes:** I blame roleplaying. And Kratos being a living contradiction, forcing me to take a break from _For the Record_. And TV Tropes. That site is addictive, yo.

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"_There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out."_

– Russian Proverb

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**On a Wing and a Prayer**

_**A Tales of Symphonia/Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World fanfic by isadorathegreat**_

**Pilot Episode: In Which the Decembers Ignore the Mayflies, to Their Regret**

The three Seraphim would later look back and desperately wish they could travel back in time, if only so they could smack some sense into their past selves. However, not even Mithos could coax Origin into giving them the power that was reserved solely for Summon Spirits. So, much to their chagrin, the First Incident continued to go down in both history and their minds as the time they collectively dropped the ball.

If you don't count the failed four millennia long attempt to bring a dead woman back to life, that is.

The First Incident began with Mithos getting impatient with the spread of Martel's religion in Sylvarant. His ire was so great, he actually went down himself to escort the Chosen of the time on her Journey of Regeneration and to trump up the legitimacy of the faith. The many people Mithos smote during the trip (usually in the "Hey-isn't-that-angel-chick-hot-ow-ow-OWWWW" kind of way) turned out to be a wondrous stress reliever. His skin had never been clearer.

After arriving back in Welgaia and starting the mana charge between Martel's soul and the unfortunate Chosen, Mithos called Yuan and Kratos from their duties for drinks in Vinheim. He even stayed in his adult form so Kratos would not have to look mildly disapproving the entire conversation at the sight of a "minor" sipping alcohol.

It was really amazing how much of a goody-goody Kratos could be when he wasn't wallowing in guilt for whatever reason he could find. Yuan tried to keep track of the ones that made sense for him to be ashamed about, if only so he could remind Kratos and shut him up when he was being insufferable. Let's see, there was that time Kratos' sister died in child birth and he wasn't there to heal her because he was leading his troops in the battlefield (against Yuan's troops, ironically). There was that time Kratos abandoned his queen and country to join Mithos and search for an end to the Kharlan War. That time when they had to split up when they were looking for the Fandalia flower and Kratos chose Martel as a partner, leaving Yuan alone with Mithos and the little bastard _set his hair on fire_—

"So, after they resuscitated him, I decided to go shirtless the rest of time. To make sure there weren't any more … misunderstandings, as it were. We arrived at the Tower of Salvation a few days later, I killed everyone but the Chosen, and then I took a bath because I was beginning to stink. Which is really too bad, since blood is an excellent moisturizer," Mithos concluded.

While Kratos nodded absently, clearly showing he was not listening (and would no likely be guilty over it later), Yuan silently wondered which category he should chalk this particular event up in. The "Mithos-is-a-homicidal-maniac" or the "Mithos-is-an-androgynous-drama-queen"? Both explanations had an equal amount evidence at this point. Decisions, decisions …

"By the way, I had an idea while I was down there. One of us should go with every Chosen on their journey, it's much more likely to succeed that way. But we'll have to pretend to be normal: I drew far more attention in my angel form than was safe and all of the little maggots expected me be kind and benevolent, which got tedious very quickly. We can even add a passage to the angelic scriptures about "a hidden guardian" during the next Oracle. That way, if we are found out early by the Chosen or her followers, it won't be quite as suspicious."

Mithos looked up expectantly and received agreement from both of his underlings. It was actually a very good idea.

Maybe Yuan should dust off his "Everything-is-according-to-Mithos'-plan-and-we-are-all-doomed" category instead …

With everyone caught up on the local gossip (which was surprisingly little this time, considering the manoeuvres the Desians would pull to become a Grand Cardinal and the hoops the Grand Cardinals would jump through to become a Cruxian), all the Seraphim got up from the table and bid each other farewell. Suddenly, Mithos gestured the other two to come back.

"Ah, I almost forgot tell you this … it's actually quite funny. You remember the last man I almost killed? He looked exactly like that Tethe'allan prince who witnessed the signing of the Kharlan Treaty. He was just as obnoxious too, I'm glad I fried him." A chuckle erupted from the young man's throat and Yuan gave up. He added this latest escapade to _all three_ categories.

This was the First Incident and the highest officials of Cruxis never realized its importance. At least, not until countless Minor Incidents had passed and the double whammy of the Second and Third Incidents occurred.

To be fair, it was not the First Incident itself that was significant, but what it implied about the laws of the universe and the possibility of certain encounters. The Seraphim did not have time to contemplate the First Incident and what it could mean because, as soon as Mithos stopped chuckling, one of the servant angels came in and monotonously informed them that the mana charge had failed and the Chosen was dead. The tantrum that followed had enough rage behind it to destroy a good sized chunk of the castle, leave the servant angel and _probably_ seven guard angels dead (it was hard to get a body count if the bodies were mainly guts, blood, and few limbs thrown into a pile), and effectively wipe the First Incident from their minds.

Kratos was mortified of Mithos going out of control and, when the carnage was over, left them to go brood in his room. Mithos was still testy enough to try throwing the poor Chosen's body off the Tower of Salvation, only for Yuan to half-heartedly stop him and place the corpse in one of the floating coffins instead. A young, distinctly bird-like Noishe had finally figured out how to use the warp pads to jump between the three worlds and was parched from his efforts. He flew over to the body pile contemplated of angelic ocular fluid since, hey, you've got to try something new once in a while. Eventually deciding against it for the sake of his avian tastes, he winged it over the leftover scotch instead.

Yuan was Not Happy having to deal with the hangover. Noishe ignored him to whimper and whine.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


End file.
